Avocado Demos II leak!

[Mine]

I dont think Ed needs to go I just think the band needs to drop the idea of what pearl jam is supposed to be. Maybe that takes gettig a new producer.

I never thought they lost the capabliity of writing good music, it just seems their idea of what a pj record should be is hindering them

Great solo by mike on 10 billion years

Totally agree.

Also, maybe the rest of the band should stick up for themselves more, instead of just deferring to Ed automatically all the time. If that's in fact what's going on. I don't know if it is. But it sure seems like it lately.

It's the other way around according to them. They keep on saying that Ed's far easier to work with and does what they want him to do - as oposed to how Vitalogy and No Code were written. I remember one quote where Ed described Mike explaining him to re-do a song because he failed to see it trough 3D glasses. Stone said he likes raising the key of the songs - Severed Hand here is noticeably lower than the final version. Speed Of Sound is a noticeably different than the demo version and does't really sound like anything Ed did with or without the band. Just mentioning this examples to show how one could see it the opposite way.

[Jorge]

Have there been any attempts to decipher these "Life Wasted" lyrics?

Very oblique. Early Stipe-ish. So far I've got...

I'm on the seat, got something around
I'm on my feet, got a bong in the sink
I wanna say that I know men that will butter me
I wanna say that there's something there's mrreow

In the sun they rise and fall
In Der Raisin, Idaho
Santa clothes beneath my bed
Eating all the ricin

I have faced it...

[Bammer]

How fucking weird is it that Pearl Jam just randomly decided to self-title an album 15 years into their band-hood and put an avocado on the cover?

Seriously it's an 11 on a 1-10 weird scale.

Given that it was their first album free from their label deal, I'd call it a 4.

'splain the avocado to me

Soft, butter inner soul encased in a hard, leathery shell. Just like the music.

[McParadigm]

Never mind the album building, the part that sucks to me is that better artists would have finished these tracks before deciding on a "final cuts" set, and as a result the resulting box sets and bootlegs are often as good as their normal output.

[Norah]

Never mind the album building, the part that sucks to me is that better artists would have finished these tracks before deciding on a "final cuts" set, and as a result the resulting box sets and bootlegs are often as good as their normal output.

Yeah, but Pearl Jam is lazy.

[Jorge]

Someone said something to the effect of "Life Wasted-- now with bongos". I think the bongos are there in the album version, too, just less audible.

[digster]

Never mind the album building, the part that sucks to me is that better artists would have finished these tracks before deciding on a "final cuts" set, and as a result the resulting box sets and bootlegs are often as good as their normal output.

To be fair, these could have continued to be worked on after these demos ; according to the date stamp these are from April 05.

[stip]

I suspect many of these at least got to the rough vocal stage. We know with Let it Ride and Cold Confession that at least a few of these songs were close to being finished

[stip]

what digster said

[stip]

I dont think Ed needs to go I just think the band needs to drop the idea of what pearl jam is supposed to be. Maybe that takes gettig a new producer.

I never thought they lost the capabliity of writing good music, it just seems their idea of what a pj record should be is hindering them

Great solo by mike on 10 billion years

Totally agree.

Also, maybe the rest of the band should stick up for themselves more, instead of just deferring to Ed automatically all the time. If that's in fact what's going on. I don't know if it is. But it sure seems like it lately.

It's the other way around according to them. They keep on saying that Ed's far easier to work with and does what they want him to do - as oposed to how Vitalogy and No Code were written. I remember one quote where Ed described Mike explaining him to re-do a song because he failed to see it trough 3D glasses. Stone said he likes raising the key of the songs - Severed Hand here is noticeably lower than the final version. Speed Of Sound is a noticeably different than the demo version and does't really sound like anything Ed did with or without the band. Just mentioning this examples to show how one could see it the opposite way.

You know, we rarely entertain the possibility that a group of people who have been playing together for 20+ years, are massively successful, in control of their career, and with innumerable outlets for playing whatever they want, may actually just enjoy the music that they write and release.

[digster]

I do wish that there was still room for other lyricists; granted, I'd rather Mike never set pen to paper again, but a lot of my favorite parts of Yield/Binaural stem from hearing (lyrical) voices with a different take than what had come before. I think something like 10 Billion Years on a PJ record would be surprising and a breath of fresh air because Ed would never write something like that. I'm not talking about the quality of the song; it's just a different take on things.

[Mine]

Never mind the album building, the part that sucks to me is that better artists would have finished these tracks before deciding on a "final cuts" set, and as a result the resulting box sets and bootlegs are often as good as their normal output.

Yeah, but Pearl Jam is lazy.

Oh no i think they'd all go nuts if they even attempted to finish every song. If anything they (except Mike and Jeff) aren't enthusiastic enough about what they're doing to even care whether they finish the songs or not.

[hlniv]

I dont think Ed needs to go I just think the band needs to drop the idea of what pearl jam is supposed to be. Maybe that takes gettig a new producer.

I never thought they lost the capabliity of writing good music, it just seems their idea of what a pj record should be is hindering them

Great solo by mike on 10 billion years

Totally agree.

Also, maybe the rest of the band should stick up for themselves more, instead of just deferring to Ed automatically all the time. If that's in fact what's going on. I don't know if it is. But it sure seems like it lately.

It's the other way around according to them. They keep on saying that Ed's far easier to work with and does what they want him to do - as oposed to how Vitalogy and No Code were written. I remember one quote where Ed described Mike explaining him to re-do a song because he failed to see it trough 3D glasses. Stone said he likes raising the key of the songs - Severed Hand here is noticeably lower than the final version. Speed Of Sound is a noticeably different than the demo version and does't really sound like anything Ed did with or without the band. Just mentioning this examples to show how one could see it the opposite way.

You know, we rarely entertain the possibility that a group of people who have been playing together for 20+ years, are massively successful, in control of their career, and with innumerable outlets for playing whatever they want, may actually just enjoy the music that they write and release.

I suspect some of them enjoyed writing and playing some of the stuff that didn't get released more than most of the stuff that did get released

[stip]

something like 10 Billion Years would really stick out on a pearl jam album for me, and not in a good way. This is just my own issue, but for whatever reason I have a lot trouble making space for other voices (even lyrical voices) on a pearl jam album. Those songs feel foreign and out of place. Even though I think In Hiding is one of Eddie's worst set of lyrics, and that ATY is much better written, the fact that Eddie didn't write that song, and that it isn't in his voice, really throws me. The fact that there were so many shared writing credits really holds back Binaural and Yield for me.

[hlniv]

Just throwing this out there-

Are we all convinced that all of these tracks are, in fact, actually Pearl Jam playing? No chance that a few or more of these may be planted in the grouping?

Certainly could be (and sounds like it is) PJ, but I hadn't seen this question posed in this thread.

I guess the very early demos of the album tracks in a way confirm the authenticity, but perhaps it should be discussed.

[digster]

something like 10 Billion Years would really stick out on a pearl jam album for me, and not in a good way. This is just my own issue, but for whatever reason I have a lot trouble making space for other voices (even lyrical voices) on a pearl jam album. Those songs feel foreign and out of place. Even though I think In Hiding is one of Eddie's worst set of lyrics, and that ATY is much better written, the fact that Eddie didn't write that song, and that it isn't in his voice, really throws me. The fact that there were so many shared writing credits really holds back Binaural and Yield for me.

You just should have done what I did and not known or cared for a long time. I didn't even know the liner notes showed different lyricists for years. But yeah, like you said, that's your own issue. That being said, I'm basically for whatever gets the best song and don't how much care who ends up writing it. It just goes back to what I said with CC and LIR; Avocado really could have used some help so leaving these songs off is bizarre to me.

[hlniv]

Current tracklist for listening to these-

1. Rearranged Priorities
2. Let it Ride
3. 2x4
4. Cold COnfession
5. Breeze in D
6. 10 Billion Years
7. Rearranged Furniture
8. Open Door
9. Lucky 13
10. The Only Cloud in the Sky


Superb

[stip]

Eddie used to be my favorite lyricist (it's not even close now, though I still think he's better than people around here give him credit for, so I devoured that information as soon as I could get it.

[Jorge]

Wait, I missed this

Interesting that he seems to have the vocal melody before the lyrics. I'd have thought the lyrics would come first

You actually thought "you're always saying that there's something wrong / I'm starting to believe it's your plan all along" are lines you build a song around?

[Heathen]

Wait, I missed this

Interesting that he seems to have the vocal melody before the lyrics. I'd have thought the lyrics would come first

You actually thought "you're always saying that there's something wrong / I'm starting to believe it's your plan all along" are lines you build a song around?

Do they sound like lines you'd put on a record you intend to release to the public? And yet...